# After how many wearings do you wash your clothes? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 1, 2010, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/after-how-many-wearings-do-you-wash-your-clothes/559089 "2010-11-01T14:25:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![MichaelEmouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/michaelemouse/32/101_2.png) [@MichaelEmouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MichaelEmouse)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2010, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/after-how-many-wearings-do-you-wash-your-clothes/559089/1 "2010-11-01T14:25:07Z")
In either GD or GQ, there’s a thread about how often people bathe with many people saying that they’ll often go 1 or several days without bathing. I’m curious to know how this applies to clothes. Some clothes are expected not to be washed every wearing. For example, few people will think that not washing a suit every time you wear it is sloppy. A few decades ago, people would wear the same shirt for several days and only change their undershirt. How does this apply to tops (shirt, sweater) and bottoms (skirts, trousers)? I am not asking about socks and underwear, which I’m going to presume the vast majority change every day, barring a shortage. Polls are anonymous. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2010, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/after-how-many-wearings-do-you-wash-your-clothes/559089/2 "2010-11-01T14:31:26Z")
Socks, under wear, t-shirts, workout gear-wear once and wash. Overshirts, jeans get worn a number of times as the usual wear time is an hour or two. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2010, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/after-how-many-wearings-do-you-wash-your-clothes/559089/3 "2010-11-01T14:37:44Z")
Socks/underwear/t-shirts get washed between each use. Jeans get worn until I do the laundry or they get dirty, they typically get worn 4-7 times between being washed provided I don’t do anything that gets them dirty or smelly (like going to a bar or making a giant batch of chili at work) “Nice clothes” get used fairly infrequently by me. If I put on khakis and a polo for an event, I’ll take them off and hang them back up in the closet as soon as I get home. These will only get washed if I do something that causes them to get dirty or smelly… BTW, I’m currently single and I’m sure that has something to do with my results. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2010, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/after-how-many-wearings-do-you-wash-your-clothes/559089/4 "2010-11-01T14:39:32Z")
The 1/1 I reported is an average. Jeans can get the whole weekend, sometimes. But not always. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Scud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Tom\_Scud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Scud)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2010, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/after-how-many-wearings-do-you-wash-your-clothes/559089/5 "2010-11-01T14:40:35Z")
Typically I go through 2 pairs of pants in a week and change shirts every day. Overshirts, if I wear them, also go 3 to 4 uses between washings. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2010, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/after-how-many-wearings-do-you-wash-your-clothes/559089/6 "2010-11-01T14:41:45Z")
I answered top 1 bottom 2, but really, the lack of shirts is the dependent factor on when I have to do laundry, so when I’m running out of clean shirts is when I will wash my pants. So sometimes less than 2 wears but occasionally more than two (but on average around 1.5) ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2010, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/after-how-many-wearings-do-you-wash-your-clothes/559089/7 "2010-11-01T16:09:44Z")
> [@Tom\_Scud](#): > > Typically I go through 2 pairs of pants in a week and change shirts every day. Overshirts, if I wear them, also go 3 to 4 uses between washings. Yeah, that sounds about right. If I just wore a shirt for a few hours and didn’t do anything remotely strenuous, I might wear it again, though. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2010, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/after-how-many-wearings-do-you-wash-your-clothes/559089/8 "2010-11-01T16:13:46Z")
I put 3 to four but skirts I tend to wash way less than pants. No crotch action, I guess. And I put once for tops. ---
**Author:** ![Omega\_Glory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7c8e57/32.png) [@Omega\_Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omega_Glory)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2010, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/after-how-many-wearings-do-you-wash-your-clothes/559089/9 "2010-11-01T17:49:11Z")
I wash anything that gets a lot of skin contact after one wearing, except things like pajama bottoms. Since I don’t sweat at night, and don’t wear them very long, they get tossed in with the bedding at the end of the week. It would be different if I were one of those ‘no underwear at night’ people, though. Tops that get layered over other tops might get two or three wearings. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2010, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/after-how-many-wearings-do-you-wash-your-clothes/559089/10 "2010-11-01T17:55:17Z")
I tend to wash everything after wearing once unless the second time it’s shorts or Tees and it’ll just be for something like working in the yard. ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2010, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/after-how-many-wearings-do-you-wash-your-clothes/559089/11 "2010-11-01T17:55:57Z")
If I wear the same shirt or pants all day (for example, my office clothes), they will usually get washed. If I just wear them for a few hours (for example, my evening casual clothes) they will go a few wearings before being washed. Exceptions: jeans get worn several times; anything that gets dirty gets washed. ---
**Author:** ![DadWagonDriver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/edb3f5/32.png) [@DadWagonDriver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DadWagonDriver)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2010, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/after-how-many-wearings-do-you-wash-your-clothes/559089/12 "2010-11-01T18:00:05Z")
T-shirts, golf shirts, socks, underwear: 1 and done Dress shirts: 1 or 2 wearings, depending on how hot it is/how much I sweat (I live in Phoenix!) Pants/shorts: 3 or 4 wearings unless they get dirty ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2010, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/after-how-many-wearings-do-you-wash-your-clothes/559089/13 "2010-11-01T18:07:57Z")
Once for everything but pants and skirts. Twice for those. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2010, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/after-how-many-wearings-do-you-wash-your-clothes/559089/14 "2010-11-01T18:19:57Z")
I’ll wear dress slacks 5 times, Monday to Friday. Jeans get washed when I do laundry, usually every 2 weeks. Shirts never get a 2nd wearing unless I wear one for less than an hour, in which case it stays “active” until it gets dirty. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2010, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/after-how-many-wearings-do-you-wash-your-clothes/559089/15 "2010-11-01T18:38:00Z")
Work clothes: one time, which is funny when I think about it because they stay the cleanest. Jeans: at least two times. I change out of my work clothes as soon as I get home and put on jeans and a T-shirt for the remainder of the day. That same jeans and T-shirt ensemble gets me through the evening for the whole week. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2010, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/after-how-many-wearings-do-you-wash-your-clothes/559089/16 "2010-11-01T18:50:48Z")
When they get stinky or dirty. My clothes are rarely stinky or dirty after one wearing - I’m not a stinky, dirty person. I have different standards for different types of clothes, though - my gardening clothes are different from my working in an office clothes. ---
**Author:** ![Mops](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mops/32/16494_2.png) [@Mops](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mops)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2010, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/after-how-many-wearings-do-you-wash-your-clothes/559089/17 "2010-11-01T19:11:25Z")
Shirts, daily. Pants, once there is visible dirt on them or they have become visibly creased- say, after 5-7 days wearing them. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2010, 8:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/after-how-many-wearings-do-you-wash-your-clothes/559089/18 "2010-11-02T08:19:42Z")
When I get out, I generally wash my shirts every time and leave my pants for every other time–although they get smell checked, so they might need washing earlier or later. I also smell-check my shirts, but, unless I’ve only worn them for a couple hours, I always need to wash them. I also am the type who has to carry deodorant around with me. ---
**Author:** ![kushiel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbce88/32.png) [@kushiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kushiel)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2010, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/after-how-many-wearings-do-you-wash-your-clothes/559089/19 "2010-11-02T21:52:41Z")
I must be a very sedentary creature, because my shirts inevitably get dirty before they start to get smelly. Of course if I’ve been sweating they go in the laundry hamper immediately, but if it’s my usual home-work-groceries-home commute I wear them a couple more times. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2010, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/after-how-many-wearings-do-you-wash-your-clothes/559089/20 "2010-11-02T22:31:15Z")
The only things I wear more than once between washing are pjs and jeans. Other than that, once. Jeans, usually twice, pajamas, it all depends.